Out in the woods
by Danjela
Summary: This one-shot I wrote for a friend of mine. She asked me for a drabble with our characters in it, it turned out a bit longer than planned, but I hope you all still like it!


"Anybody seen Sam?" She asked, scanning faces to see if he was among the people around the camp fire. "I was just about to ask you the same thing," Rick replied and Andrea furrowed her brow. They had clear rules on leaving camp and one of them was not to go out on your own. Sam knew this, and she couldn't believe he'd just leave without telling anybody. "I'm going to look for him," she said, turning around to walk back to the RV. "You can't go on your own!" Shane protested, following her. She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can and I will. I've got a better chance of returning alive and in one piece if I go alone. Don't follow me, Shane," she ordered, continuing her way to the RV. She didn't hear footsteps following her, so she assumed Shane knew that what she'd said was true.

Ignoring Dale, who was on top of the vehicle, she stepped inside, gathering up her rifle, axe and gun and leaving again. There weren't any cars missing, so she knew he was out on foot. She took off, her rifle over her shoulder, her axe on her belt and her gun in her hand. Right before she disappeared between the trees, she looked back over her shoulder, searching out the sun. Sale had taught her how to see what time it was by looking at the sun's position. She estimated it was about three more hours until it would go dark, which gave her enough time to find Sam. At least, that was what she hoped.

As soon as she was past the tree line, things became quiet and a lot darker. She was on her guard, ready for any Walkers she'd come across.

After having searched the woods for some time, she felt stupid for going on her own and not taking Daryl with her. The hunter would probably have found some sort of trace by now. She? She just wandered around, hoping to run into Sam.

When she stood still for a couple of seconds, she heard something. It sounded like someone – or something – walking through the leave-covered forest floor.

She knew it could be anything; a deer, a Walker, a human being, but she also knew that if it was Sam, she had to look, since he was not able to let her know it was him.

"Sam?" She called out, while trying to keep her voice as low as possible. The noise seemed to come closer and she raised her gun, in case it was a Walker and not Sam. She was glad she had the gun at the ready, because when the source of the noise came into view, it turned out to be the ugliest Walker she'd ever seen.

Luckily, it was just the one, so she stored her gun back in its holster and pulled out her axe. "You'd best pray I don't find out you've eaten Sam," she muttered, swinging the axe toward the thing and burying it in the side of its head.

With a big effort, she managed to get the axe out and after having checked the Walker for any signs of a possible run-in with Sam, she continued her search for the guy.

She felt like she'd been walking around through the forest in circles and when she peered up at the treetops, she could only just see the sky becoming darker. "For fuck's sake, Sam, where are you?" She muttered to herself, wondering how long it was going to take to find him.

Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she felt something on her shoulder. Pulling her gun, she turned around, nearly tripping over her own feet, and aimed it at whatever was behind her.

It took her a couple of seconds to process who she was pointing her gun at, but as soon as she realized it was Sam, she lowered the weapon immediately. "Sam?" She said, feeling both relieved and angry. "Where the hell have you been?" She didn't even give him time to form an answer, but wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "You had me pretty damn worried," she murmured against his shoulder. She felt his hands on her hips, a feeble attempt to push her away. She arched an eyebrow as she pulled back, looking at him a bit better. He looked like he'd been to Hell and back and whatever anger she still felt, was immediately replaced with worry.

"O God Sam, what happened?" She asked. "Were you bit? Scratched?" He held up his hands, shaking his head. '_I got lost_,' his hands told her. '_Didn't know how to get back to camp_.' She grabbed his shoulders, turning him left and right, critically checking every inch of him she could see, for any signs of a Walker-attack, but she couldn't find anything. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked him, just in case and he nodded, smiling. '_Just tired and hungry_.'

"Well, then we'd better get back to camp. Let's go." She turned to walk away, looking over her shoulder to see if he was following her, when she noticed he was limping. "That does not look okay, Sam." She pointed out. "What happened?" Her tone of voice didn't leave room for excuses. '_Nothing_,' he signed, a smile on his face. '_Rabbit hole_.' She didn't know why, but she didn't believe him. Dropping the subject nonetheless, she walked back to him. "C'mere, let me help you." And before he could protest, she'd grabbed his arm, wrapping it around her shoulder and lifting most of his weight onto her shoulders, while grabbing hold of his waistband to keep him balanced.

His free hand fluttered in some sort of half signs and she chuckled. "No complaining," she grinned, refusing to let go of the arm around her shoulders so he could use proper signs; she just kept dragging him along. After a couple of minutes of trying to communicate with one hand, he seemed to give up. "You'll just have to wait until we're back in camp to start your complaining." He stuck out his tongue and she snapped her teeth at him. "I told you I was going to catch that thing if you keep hanging it outside your mouth." She warned him, smiling. "Camp's just a little further ahead," she told him. "Then, when we get there, you can complain about me half-carrying you back all you want." And indeed, not even ten minutes later, they left the tree line behind them.

"Oi, Shane!" She called out. "Come and help me!" Shane's head appeared from behind one of the tents and when he saw who it was, he came running towards them. It wasn't that Sam was that heavy, but after walking around for over three hours, helping him over any obstacles they came across, her arms, legs and shoulders were burning with the effort.

Shane wrapped Sam's other arm around his shoulders, helping Andrea carry him further into camp. As soon as they'd lowered him into one of the chairs, his hands started dancing again. "What's he saying?" Shane asked. Most of the survivors didn't know sign language. That was why Andrea was usually around Sam when she wasn't busy.

"He says that he could've easily walked back himself and that we didn't have to carry him." She turned to face Sam. "And we did it anyway, nothing you can do about it." She tried to sound stern, but failed miserably. "Now let's take a look at that foot," she said, dropping down on one knee. By that time, the rest of the group seemed to slowly go back to what they were doing, the situation no being exciting enough anymore to stick around.

She leaned forward to roll up his pants, so she could take a good look at his ankle, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up at Sam, who motioned for her to come closer. She arched an eyebrow, but obliged anyway, leaning in closer to him. 'Thank you,' he signed, before wrapping his arms around her neck and pulling her into a hug. She nearly lost her balance and braced herself on the back of the chair before smiling and returning the hug. "It was nothing," she whispered in his ear.


End file.
